In March 2010, when a handful of Tea Party protesters issued juvenile insults against Congressman Barney Frank, that unhappy Massachusetts Democrat said “his GOP colleagues need to do more to ‘differentiate themselves’ from the hateful speech spewed in the healthcare debate’s final hours.”

Wonder if Republicans will be calling on Mr. Frank to “differentiate” himself from the leftists who attacked the son of a Republican state Senator when he was “trying to stop someone from stealing his Romney/Ryan yard sign.”  Senator Neal Kedzie describes the incident:

Early on Friday morning, October 19th, my son Sean was awakened by noises outside his residence in Whitewater. As he went to see what the commotion was about, he noticed an individual removing a Romney/Ryan yard sign from his property. He yelled to the person that they were taking something not theirs and to return it immediately.

The individual returned the sign, however, a second person confronted and attacked Sean without warning.

Sean was wrestled to the ground by both persons, held down by a constricting chokehold, and struck repeatedly about the face and head.

The thugs who beat this young man, to be sure, are not representative of the Democratic Party, but if the situation were reversed and some ruffians removed an Obama sign and beat the son of a Democratic official, you can be certain, prominent Democrats like Mr. Frank would be making much of the incident, with their friends in the legacy media suggesting that this incident all but defines the modern GOP.

Coming up at 4:30PM EDT on BlogTalkRadio, I’ll be airing my 10/18 speech to the Charleston Tea Party rally.

Please tune in, or download from iTunes, and let me know what you think!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

From my Cincinnati correspondent, I learn that one of his neighbors who had an Obama sign on his lawn four years ago now has a Romney sign.  And although he has seen a few more Obama signs than in the past, he has see far more Romney stickers than Obama ones.

The Suffolk University poll of Ohio voters, with only a 4-point Democratic advantage (39D-35R) shows the race ties at 47.  Of those surveyed, 280 voters backed Romney, 279 Obama.   (via The Corner.)

Other polls have shown the president slightly ahead of his Republican rival, yet with samples far more favorable to the Democrat than he enjoyed in the Buckeye State in 2008.  The “the latest CBS News/Quinnipiac poll in Ohio,” reports Ed Morrissey,

has a laughable D/R/I of 35/26/34.  In 2008, the D/R/I was 39/31/30, while in 2010 it was 36/37/28.  We have plenty of data on enthusiasm in this election cycle, precisely none of which points to an 11-point drop in Republican participation in two years in this race.

Still, in that survey, Mitt Romney “has made some inroads with independents; he now leads among this group by seven points, 49 to 42 percent. Romney had a one-point advantage among independents in September.”

The Gravis survey, observes Josh Jordan in the National Review, shows Romney enjoying an even bigger advantage among independent voters who prefer the Republican by nearly 20 points, 52-33. ”PPP (a Democratic firm) released their new poll” on Saturday, he noted.  And it revealed a similar phenomenon:

. . . showing Obama only up one point, 49 to 48. Just a week ago PPP had the race at 51–46 for Obama. But the four-point gain for Romney is even more impressive when you look at the poll’s findings:

This week’s poll has a Democrat sample advantage of 8 percent; last week’s advantage was 4. Romney gained four points on Obama in a week despite the sample’s having four percentage points more Democrats. Romney leads with independents by 7 percent, up from a 5 percent last week. (more…)

Maybe they meant “Foe-ward”?

Red ovals added. H/t: Twitchy.

FROM THE COMMENTS:  Maybe it wasn’t a misspelling, Lobogris observes that “Where the R should be is an arrow pointing to something else. Someone needs to get a clearer picture before assuming it’s a misspelling.”

They might have had more space in the adjacent parking lot. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, “a crowd of more than 100 at a Romney campaign office in northwest Reno” gathered to hear Mitt Romney’s one-time rival for the Republican nomination, Texas Governor Rick Perry.

(H/t: Reader Kurt.)

This morning, Jim Geraghty asks us to “Take a look at Obama’s campaign stops since that first debate – almost all of them have been on college campuses“:

Some might wonder if this is because only college campuses have venues large enough to accommodate a crowd coming to see the president, but we all remember the arena rallies and giant crowds in public parks from the 2008 campaign. No, the relentless focus on college campuses is no accident, and it becomes clearer once you throw in his appearance on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and he’ll be appearing with Jay Leno Wednesday night. He’s aiming for the maximum turnout from a demographic that was, until 2008, among the least likely to turn out to vote.

Could it also be that it’s easier to draw a larger crowd on a college campus, with most students having more flexibility than working adults?  And, heck, if the rally is on the campus, so students won’t have to go much out of their way to see a candidate whom they only support because, well, your friends are backing him.  I mean, it’s not like they have to “crawl over broken glass” to get there.

The Governor of New Jersey wonders why the incumbent President of the United States is seeking a second term:

(Via Charlie Spiering at the Washington Examiner.) At 0:18, he addresses the president, “You’ve been living inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, for the last four years. If you don’t think you can change Washington from inside the White House, then let’s give you the plane ticket back to Chicago you’ve earned.”

It’s Chris Christie, watch the whole thing.

At the end of February, I blogged about the hike in consumer prices and commented the following month about the  approximately 14% increase in my grocery bill over the past two years.  A reader reported that he had also experienced a similar increase.

Earlier today, Glenn linked a post showing the increase in prices on some “everyday prices“.  Now this one shows the increase over ten years, but I’ve seen a significant increase over the past two, with apples up by about 17% and ground turkey by nearly 30% (15% in the past few months).

. . . than Obama supporters who attended it:

1. Sandra Fluke Campaigns For Obama and Free Birth Control in Nevada – 10 People Show Up
2. “(Bumped). (And bumped again, because this is just too sweet).“
3. Sandra Fluke ‘rally’ for Democrats in Reno draws in excess of half a dozen
4. Sandra Fluke Wows ‘Em In Reno
5. Sandra Fluke Campaigns For Obama, Draws Crowd Of 10 People
6. Update: OFA Spins FlukeFail As An “Intimate Gathering” In A Parking Lot
7. Democrat Momentum Unstoppable!
8. Massive Fluke
9. Fluke Draws Throng of 10 in Reno
10. In Nevada Sandra Fluke Drew A Crowd Of Ten – Update – Video Added (more…)

In just a few months, gay Americans will no longer have to experience the embarrassment of having a mean-spirited liberal as the most prominent gay Congressman.  With the retirement of Barney Frank, more pleasantly disposed gay Democrats, like Colorado’s Jared Polis, should come to the fore.

And while the unhappy Mr. Frank will no longer be representing Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives, it seems increasingly likely that another gay man — and one with a much better understanding of the way the world works and a keen appreciation of the burdens the government places upon individuals — will be representing the Bay State in Washington., D.C.

It seems increasingly likely that Richard Tisei, the only congressional challenger I have officially endorsed this year, appears poised to oust Democrat John Tierney in the state’s 6th Congressional District.

The National Journal ranked the race as “the 11th most likely to turn over among the 435 seats in the House” and” the Rothenberg Political Report, another nationally regarded nonpartisan observer, tipped the race to ‘Lean Republican’ from ‘Toss-up.’”  That’s good news for Massachusetts, for gay Americans in general and gay Republicans in particular.

His campaign could always use a few extra bucks to make sure they get his supporters to the polls next month.  Join me in supporting this good man.